Acupuncture Electro
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Acupuncture Electro · Jan 1987
Attenuation of tourniquet-induced pain in man by D-phenylalanine, a putative inhibitor of enkephalin degradation.
The effect D-phenylalanine (DPA), a putative inhibitor of enkephalin degradation, on the two separate pain components produced by the submaximal effort tourniquet test was evaluated in healthy human volunteers (N = 8). DPA attenuated the increase of the intensity of the ischemic and pressure pain components with increasing ischemia duration, but only the effect on the pressure pain component was significant. The results support some earlier reports suggesting that DPA has analgetic properties.